Hunting Emperor Geese in Alaska

Ray

Ray

Well-known member
Wake up Sutton! Your dream Alaska hunt might be coming!

http://www.alaskapublic.org/2017/02...l-proposes-an-emperor-goose-subsistence-hunt/

The AK migratory bird council has submitted a proposal to allow for a spring/fall hunt for emperor geese. The spring hunt will be for local residents in specific subsistence areas much like current Federal subsistence spring duck hunting.

However, a fall hunt appears to use a registration permit system much like they do for Dusky geese in Unit 6 (Cordova, AK), and will allow for Joe Public to hunt them.

The logistics could be an issue for most trophy hunters, but with duck guides well established in Cold Bay that also have some gear on Adak, trophy hunters could start increasing. Might even start some duck guiding in Bethel as these geese can be found near town there in early September.

I can see where the locals could end up being real mad that commercial hunters could end up taking the majority of the 1,000 bird statewide fall harvest limit. The bird's behavior could prevent that though as they stay in small flocks, a "family" or two in size, for most the year. I've never seen more than 12 birds in any flock at Shemya, Adak, Cold Bay, or Bethel. And usually its just one flock out at any of the island locations. Cold Bay could be very different later in the fall, as I have only been there in the summer. Kodiak could become the commercial harvest focus point late in the season, as well. More motivation to go deer/duck hunting out there.
 
1,000 birds for residents, and 25 non-resident tags for 2018-2019 season that you will have to apply for lottery in 2017 big game permit drawing.
 
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Cool bird, less than 1% of the population allotted for take. I've always kind of felt that until the population of a species could sustain a hunt then it wasn't fully recovered. That's why it always surprises me when environmentalist moan about opening up hunting on recovering species. Hunting means we've done at least a decent job at our recovery efforts. Kudos to the agencies involved.
 
http://www.pacificflyway.gov/Documents/Eg_plan.pdf

Here is a link to the 2016 co management plan.

The plan is to implement the fall hunt system recommended on pages 25 and 26. You obtain a registration permit from AKDFG, take one goose and report it quickly back to AKDFG. Once the entire take of 1,000 birds has been reached the hunt is shut down and you have to turn in your unused registration permit.

We conduct lots of registration hunts for big game up here, and one for Dusky geese, so this system should work well for management and data collection.
 
Actually no Todd. Subsistence hunters have another allocation. This was done to specifically allow for a limited fall hunt.
 
Actually no Todd. Subsistence hunters have another allocation. This was done to specifically allow for a limited fall hunt.
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I'm sure you are right, but the locals in that part of the world have not been very charitable to outsiders lately.
 
True for the caribou farther to the north in unit 23. And lets not forget the constant political action of Ahtna corporation through Congressman for Life Don Young over management of the Nelchina caribou in the central part of the state.

The Federal subsistence boards are separate from the Migratory Bird co-management councils. Their only voice on this issue is to submit comments on the plan through the Federal Register process. They could put up a stink, though, so why not a huge showing of support from across the nation?

Here is the link to submit comments to:
https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=FWS-R7-MB-2016-0136

What is funny to me is that when I have been out in these communities, I have seen pamphlets or posters and what not stating to not shoot Emperors. Then reading these documents it turns out that there is an annual harvest of about 3,000 birds a year since they started keeping track through the hunter survey process.
 
True for the caribou farther to the north in unit 23. And lets not forget the constant political action of Ahtna corporation through Congressman for Life Don Young over management of the Nelchina caribou in the central part of the state.

The Federal subsistence boards are separate from the Migratory Bird co-management councils. Their only voice on this issue is to submit comments on the plan through the Federal Register process. They could put up a stink, though, so why not a huge showing of support from across the nation?

Here is the link to submit comments to:
https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=FWS-R7-MB-2016-0136

What is funny to me is that when I have been out in these communities, I have seen pamphlets or posters and what not stating to not shoot Emperors. Then reading these documents it turns out that there is an annual harvest of about 3,000 birds a year since they started keeping track through the hunter survey process.
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Pamphlets and posters do a great job, just look at that reintroduced Bison that got shot - would have probably have been shot months earlier were it not for the pamphlets and posters in the villages. :)

At least now that the harvest is legit, they will have to buy duck stamps to shoot them.... oh nevermind.....
 
Oh my name will be in the pot every year as well! I had the opportunity to get a pen raised Emperor about a month ago, but that takes all the fun out of it for me. If I wanted to just collect birds without hunting I could have already gotten all 41 waterfowl species!
 
Pamphlets and posters do a great job, just look at that reintroduced Bison that got shot - would have probably have been shot months earlier were it not for the pamphlets and posters in the villages. :)

At least now that the harvest is legit, they will have to buy duck stamps to shoot them.... oh nevermind.....
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Don't get me started on the Alaska Native's "stewardship" of the land. Many of them are just poachers. They want theirs and anyone else can go pound sand, even their fellow tribe members up river. The screw you attitude in the YK delta gets old fast.

the duck stamp thing is partly the fault of the USPS not producing duck stamps until mid summer. The USFWS changed their enforcement rule and allowed that if you had last year's stamp then it counts towards the spring hunts. With most purchases happening through the web, remote villagers are still not getting stamps until their local USPS contract postmaster orders them.
 
UPDATE

The Alaska Board of Game accepted a late proposal in January 2017 to add Emperor geese hunting season. The migratory bird co-management council submitted a proposal that allowed for no non-resident take under a registration permit system.

The Alaska Board of Game is all about the guide industry, and modified the proposal to allow for 25 non-resident drawing permits starting in 2018. this will require non-residents to apply on line starting in mid November 2017.

I imagine this hunt will become similar to some of the swan hunts in NC and NV. But you will need a huge amount of logistics support to get into fall Emperor goose areas, or go to Cold Bay where you could DIY from the road as long as you were ok handing the bears using the same foot trails through the refuge.
 
Everyone should add Cold Bay, AK to their bucket list. You can fly from Anchorage to Hawaii cheaper than you can fly from Anchorage to Cold Bay. It's a different world out there. I remember Grant Air scheduled their flights to Egegik based on tides because the beach was their landing strip.
 
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